[StBernard] St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro is still calling for 300, 000+ feet of additional boom

[Westley Annis]

St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro is still calling for 300,000+
feet of additional boom 

The St. Bernard Parish Deepwater Claims Center for affected fishermen is
open for operation 

 

St. Bernard Parish President Craig Taffaro is calling for all vendors of
hard and soft boom to email proposals to him directly with information on
cost and delivery dates. 150,000 feet of both hard and soft boom is needed
urgently for oil spill efforts in St. Bernard Parish in the next 36 hours. 

 

Please submit your proposals to ctaffaro at sbpg.net <mailto:ctaffaro at sbpg.net>
as soon as possible.

 

The coffer dome placement at the site of the oil leak failed today. Ice
formed at the top of the dome, and the dome was placed on the sea bed until
the ice can be eliminated and prevented. Otherwise, there is no change or
increase in the oil leak.

 

There were five successful oil burns at the surface of the water in the past
24 hours. 7,200 gallons of oil dispersant was applied yesterday. 17,500
barrels of water/oil mix were skimmed at the source of the oil leak as well.
The weather has hampered burning and skimming efforts today.

 

A coastal over flight of the entire Louisiana coast found no evidence of
sheen or oil emulsion within five miles of the coastline. Winds are pushing
everything away from the gulf coast at this time.
St. Bernard continued booming efforts today. 19,760 feet of soft boom and
12,400 feet of hard boom were deployed today.


 

The presence of oil sheen has been confirmed previously south of Southwest
Pass, and oil has impacted the Chandeleurs. 

 

BP has set up a claims hotline where commercial fisherman can call to make a
claim. The number to call to make a claim is 1-800-440-0858.There is also a
St. Bernard Parish Deepwater Claims Center established that is in operation.
The hours of operation will be from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. However, if you
have not called the 1-800-440-0858 claims hotline, you will not be able to
see an adjuster at the Claims Center. You will first need to obtain a claims
number through the Claims Hotline. Once you have obtained a claims number,
you may report to 1345 Bayou Road at the Rosa Ducros Tennant Museum. There
are people there to guide you through your claims process. Again, the number
to call to make a claim is 1-800-440-0858. 

 

Before you go to the Claims Center, you must have the following documents on
hand: 1) A legible copy of a valid driver's license, 2) A valid fishing
license, 3) Any financial information i.e. W-2, trip tickets, receipts, or a
letter of income from your ship's captain with the name of the captain. It
is being asked that all fishermen who attempt to access this program to
please call St. Bernard Parish EOC and report the effectiveness of this
program. That number is 1-504-278-4268. Additionally, Senator David Vitter's
office has set up a toll-free number for assistance with the BP claims
process. That number is 1-866-345-0931.

 

Beware of volunteer organizations providing training at cost. BP has agreed
to provide volunteer training at no-cost, specifics will be announced as
soon as this training has been scheduled. 

 

All registered fishermen have been designated into teams and put to work in
their assigned rotations. To become hired by St. Bernard Parish in this
effort, you must be able to prove that you are a resident of St. Bernard
Parish. There will be no exceptions. Fishermen can sign up to be hired at
the Breton Sound Marina at the Command Center. All volunteering fishermen
must include the Vessel Name, Owner/Captain Name, Contact phone, email and
address, Vessel Length, Horsepower and Draft. 

 

A list will be published on the St. Bernard Parish Government website
detailing which fishermen will be working on a day to day basis, as outlined
by the teams that were chosen earlier. Please refer to this list before
reporting to work at the Breton Sound Marina in the morning. 

 

Fishermen will be personally contacted to attend training sessions. No one
may attend if they have not been contacted. Additionally, access has been
restricted at Shell Beach and Breton Sound. Fishermen are asked to not
report to the launch points without proper authorization. Because St.
Bernard commercial fishermen have been financially impacted by the spill,
St. Bernard Parish President Taffaro and the Parish Council, including
Councilman Fred Everhardt who represents the eastern end of the parish, are
focusing on linking the fishermen with BP's Vessel of Opportunity program so
they will be compensated for their efforts. 

 

Over the weekend, Lenor Duplessis and Karen Bazile are available for
information for the press. Duplessis can be reached at 504-874-0894. Bazile
can be reached at 504-874-0980.

 

The Shell Beach Command Center will start operations in the near future. To
visit this site, prior approval and coordination must be gotten through
Belsom at 504-444-4269 starting Monday. Call ahead to ensure your needs will
be able to be met. 

 

Please monitor the news for additional information. Updates also will be
posted on the parish website at www.sbpg.net.

  

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